Doing Our Part: Test Devices’ Community Outreach
Test Devices is a business unit of Schenck USA Corp.; we perform engineering tests, and we also have outsourced production services at our other Hudson location.
In early August, we welcomed a group of students from Brockton High School. As a part of their summer program, the students visited Test Devices to learn what we do, specifically for the Aerospace industry. The event was organized through AIAA New England Section as well as Empower Yourself MA.
The day started with a demonstration of a small gas turbine engine, followed by a tour of the Test Devices facilities, and concluded with a Q&A session with engineers and technicians over lunch. It was an exceptionally hot and humid day, but nothing deterred the students! They stayed focused, asked many good questions, and went home with a good understanding of how gas turbine engines and spin pits work!
The visit positively impacted employees at Test Devices, too. The student’s enthusiasm and curiosity rubbed off on the engineers and technicians who interacted with the Brockton students. Beyond that, for some employees with similar socio-economic and racial backgrounds as the Brockton students, it was particularly meaningful to see the Test Devices community contribute to a great initiative in collaboration with educators like Cedric Turner.
Cedric is an educator from Brockton High School. He founded the non-profit organization, Empower Yourself MA, to promote STEM and financial education for students at Brockton public schools, especially for children in minority and underserved communities. Learn more about Cedric and his experiences here.
“A country with more engineers and scientists is a wealthy one; a country with basketballers is not…”
Cedric believes in the importance of giving the kids exposure to potential paths other than athletics and music careers in their formative years. Most recently, he was nominated for and won the Trailblazing STEM Educator Award from AIAA for his ongoing work through Empower Yourself and his commitment to promoting STEM education.
Photos
Presentation by Test Devices’ Michael Holman on the Schenck Centrio 100 Spin Test machine.
Peter Dentch, a summer internship student from WPI, is describing a gas turbine control system to an inquisitive student (right).
Test Devices’ President, Dave Woodford, and CTO and AIAA New England Section’s Chair, Hiro Endo, describe the types of work Test Devices does for the Aerospace industry.
A group photo to wrap up the day!